Regional News

Timber-use loans ready Loans for timber use ready

Thursday, 24 March 2011 14:31

SALIDA — Upper Arkansas area businesses that harvest, use or market beetle-killed pine timber can qualify for financial lending assistance due to new state funding. Loan funds were established by State House Bill 1199, paving the way for the state Forest Service and its partners to establish a Forest Business Loan Fund program. Loans are available to businesses that use timber and wood products harvested from beetle-killed pine tree stands, including those projects that address beetle-kill tree thinning for wildfire risk reduction.

Subzero cold snap bad for moth eggs but wasn't long enough to get rid of pine beetles

Tuesday, 01 February 2011 14:31

The cold this week may have been sufficient to kill moth eggs larvae in blankets but still lacked the oomph needed to terminate mountain pine beetles burrowed into Rocky Mountain forests."We need it to be sustained, at least two or three weeks" with temperatures of minus 20 or lower, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Janelle Smith. "These short cold snaps will not do the job." That's because beetles' bodies produce insulation material that serves as an anti-freeze around them under tree bark. Beetles since 1996 have infested 4.6 million acres of forests in Colorado and Wyoming. Subzero temperatures in Denver, however, may have plunged low enough to zap moth eggs that lead to springtime unraveling of blankets, sweaters and fine rugs.

Pine beetle epidemic grows to more than 4 million acres in Colorado, southern Wyoming

Saturday, 22 January 2011 14:31

The U.S. Forest Service Friday released the results of new aerial mapping showing the mountain pine bark beetle epidemic raging since the mid 1990s has now consumed more than 4 million acres of pine trees in Colorado and southern Wyoming.

In Colorado alone, more than 400,000 acres of trees were killed last year, mostly in the Arapaho, White River, Roosevelt, Medicine Bow and Routt national forests.

Partnerships can heal forests, official says

Monday, 25 October 2010 14:31

CREEDE—Partnerships could be one way of solving the potential money crunch to save trees and for the cleanup of beetle-killed spruce trees in the Rio Grande National Forest. Harris Sherman, undersecretary for natural resources and environment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said last week that partnerships for wildlife habitat, recreation and jobs can make things happen. Sherman noted that 66 million people in America get their water from national forests, so the resilience and health of the forest is a major factor for quality of life, even in cities.

Beetle-kill epidemic a boon for Wyoming's timber industry?

Tuesday, 05 October 2010 14:31

ENCAMPMENT -- Anyone who thinks the mountain bark beetle epidemic is all bad for Wyoming hasn't bought a log cabin from Randy Olson. For three decades, Olson has run a company in Cody that makes premade log cabins and log houses -- a manufacturing process that resembles playing with life-sized Lincoln Logs

Land managers launch tree-clearing plan to avoid water threats

Wednesday, 01 September 2010 14:31

DILLON — Denver and federal land managers today are launching a $33 million effort to clear trees from beetle-ravaged forests where fire and erosion increasingly threaten water supplies."If we don't make an investment now to make sure our watersheds are healthy, then we will have to deal with the problem later and at a much greater cost," Denver Water manager Jim Lochhead said.

Pitkin County: No new oil, gas leases in national forest

Sunday, 01 August 2010 14:31

ASPEN — Pitkin County is urging White River National Forest officials to close forest lands to future oil and gas leasing as existing leases expire. The 2.3-million-acre forest in northwest Colorado surrounds Aspen and Pitkin County and is important to tourism and recreation in the county, says a letter outlining the county's stand on oil and gas leasing in the White River.

Mountain Pine Beetles May Fly Earlier This Year Says Colorado State Forest Service

Thursday, 01 July 2010 14:31

The mountain pine beetles that have killed millions of Colorado pines in recent years may already be flying, earlier than typical summer dispersion dates. “I’ve already begun hearing reports of beetles flying north of Red Feather Lakes,” said Sky Stephens, Colorado State Forest Service forest entomologist, citing observations from other beetle experts in northern Colorado.

Wind-blown tree hazard high this year

Thursday, 03 June 2010 13:58

Hikers and bikers will have to deal with more wind-blown trees than usual blocking trails in the mountains around Aspen, Basalt and Carbondale this spring, a forest ranger said Wednesday. “It's been a windy year. I think [forest] visitors are going to encounter more blowdown,” said Martha Moran, a recreation manager and planner with the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District. “Some trails are not going to get cleared like they have been in recent years.”

Officials study threat to Fort Collins' water supply from beetle-kill trees

Friday, 07 May 2010 13:06

What happens if the Poudre River watershed, which Fort Collins relies on for part of its drinking water supply, is scorched by a catastrophic wildfire fed by dead trees killed by bark beetles?

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